But they will also see what’s become the bane of historic cemeteries: Vandalism.

Sometime late Friday or early Saturday, about 20 headstones were toppled inside the 30-acre cemetery at 2115 Southeast Morrison Street. The cemetery, founded in 1855, contains the remains historic figures from Portland’s past, with names such as Dekum, Hawthorne and Lovejoy. It’s one of

The gravestone of E.F. Schrader, one of Portland's early beer pioneers, was toppled by vandals Friday night or early Saturday morning.

Rachel Fox, Metro’s cemetery manager, said vandalism at Lone Fir is a huge problem because of its location in a dense urban setting. She said vandals in the past have burrowed under the fence to get inside. Metro has worked closely with Portland police, who regularly patrol the cemetery.

Fox said it took a lot of force to push over some of the heavier headstones and markers: “It doesn’t appear that one person could have done it alone,” she said.

Muhich said one of the damaged headstones marks the grave of Edward F. Schrader, one of Portland’s earliest beer makers. Schrader was a close friend of George Bottler, and ran a tavern next to Bottler’s brewery in the 1850s.

Bottler was an early partner of Henry Weinhard. Together they started Portland’s second brewery in 1856. Weinhard later bought Bottler’s City Brewery. The rest is sudsy history.

“That one hit me personally,’’ Muhich said. “Luckily, it as broken at the base and can be repaired.” Schrader died in 1869, and is one of 25,000 people buried there. A plot cost $10 in 1866, according to Metro’s website.

The cost to repair the damaged headstones is beyond Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery’s restoration fund called “One Stone at a Time,” Muhich said.

Fox said pieces that can be repaired will be fixed by Metro; more heavily damaged stones may need the professional help of a preservationist, at a cost of $150 to $200 each.

carries a maximum fine of $50,000. Some of the oldest graves are considered archaeological sites, Fox said.

Some of the numerous headstones toppled or damaged by vandals at Lone Fir Cemetery in Southeast Portland.

On Tuesday, cemetery workers used a large winch to move and/or put back together some of the damaged headstones. Heavily damaged stones will be put in storage until they can be fixed.

Frank Schaefer, president of Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery, said the group was formed in 2000 after vandals toppled 60 headstones on Memorial Day; another 39 were toppled or damaged about a month later. The group often has volunteers spend Halloween night at the cemetery, another time when vandals are prone to strike.

“It always seems to coincide with school getting out, or during spring and winter break,” Schaefer said. “This is some of the worst vandalism I’ve seen at the cemetery.”

Despite the damage, The Association of Gravestone Studies will go ahead with awarding Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery the Oakley Certificate of Merit, for their work at preserving and protecting the cemetery and advancing the mission of the association.

"It's a big deal that they are coming to Oregon,'' Fox said. "Most of their conferences are held on the East Coast. There are a lot older cemeteries back there."